Hare & Hounds star at Esher Common (From Your Local Guardian)

Hare & Hounds star at Esher Common

2:00pm Friday 17th February 2012 in Sport By Stuart Amos

Thames Hare & Hounds athletes Lucy MacAlister and Ruth Clifton finished first and second at the Surrey Ladies Cross Country League meeting at Esher Common on Saturday.

MacAlister, 33, clocked 28 minutes, 33 seconds to beat her club-mate – and the rest of the 276-strong field – to the line by more than a minute as Hare & Hounds won the match to claim the title.

Hercules Wimbledon’s women achieved their best ever team placing in the Surrey Ladies League as 11th place in Esher gave them third overall.

With Hercules’ Clifton coming second in 29:50 seconds, but running for Thames Hare & Hounds, the club’s first finisher was Amy Aronson in 22nd in 33:16.

“It is amazing to achieve this after gaining promotion two seasons ago and finishing ninth last year,” said Wimbledon’s team manager Janet Fernando.

“What a turn round from a few seasons back when we had so few runners we were thinking of disbanding the section.”

Walton Athletics Club’s Marta Casavieja was her club’s first athlete home as she came in 11th in 30:52.